Vitamins Archives - Page 7 of 8 - Natural Eye Care Blog: News & Research on Vision

Vitamin B12 Helps Fight Alzheimer’s, Anemia, and Glaucoma

A study out of Sweden shows that people with diets rich in vitamin B12 are much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Published in the journal Neurology, researchers describe how the risk of Alzheimer’sdropped by 2% for every micromole per liter of vitamin B12 found in the blood.

However, they also found that decreased levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which is also associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke, can also increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. Vitamin B12 can actually lower those homocysteine levels.

According to the source of this story, Medical News Today, study authors conclude that “their study reveals the need for more research into vitamin B12’s role as a marker for identifying individuals at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Good food sources of B12 include eggs, sardines, clams, and mackerel. Learn more about food sources of nutrients.

It has long been known that B12 is essential for a healthy nervous system, with deficiencies leading to permanent damage of nerve cells. B12 comes from fish, meat, eggs, milk products and processed fortified foods. People who are on a vegan diet need to make sure they are getting enough B12, since the body stores B12 for a long time and deficiency symptoms may not appear until the problem is serious.

FDA Warns Against Accidental Infant Vitamin Overdose

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a warning to parents and caregivers about the dangers of accidental overdose when giving infants liquid vitamin D supplement products.

Some products are sold with droppers that could allow harmful amounts of the vitamin to be given to an infant. These droppers can hold a greater amount of liquid vitamin D than an infant should receive. Infants should not receive more than 400 international units (IUs) of vitamin D a day.

“It is important that infants not get more than the recommended daily amount of vitamin D,” says Linda M. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., interim chief medical officer in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “Parents and caregivers should only use the dropper that comes with the vitamin D supplement purchased.”

Vitamin D helps in the formation of strong bones and is essential to keep children from developing rickets. Opinions vary as to whether breastfed babies require additional vitamin D supplementation (it is a part of most infant formulas). Regular exposure to sunlight can provide children with a good source of vitamin D and is, in fact, the way that human were designed to receive the vitamin. Darker skinned children and babies whose mothers suffer from a vitamin D deficiency (rare in the developed world) might have deficiencies that require supplementation.

Source: FDA and Kellymom.com

Vitamin D Helps Boost Immunity to Colds

A new study reinforces the role that Vitamin D plays in preventing colds and other respiratory tract infections.

Researchers using data from 18,883 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that Vitamin D could boost immunity to colds, even after adjusting for demographic and clinical factors such as season, body mass index, and smoking history. The study, published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine reinforces the importance of Vitamin D in avoiding upper respiratory tract infections.

Vitamin D is produced by the body when exposed to direct sunlight. It is crucial for people with limited sun exposure (such as during winter months) to include Vitamin D in their diet. Good sources of Vitamin D include fatty fish, fish liver oils, and eggs.

SOURCE; Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Ginde, et al, Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):384-390.

Preterm Births Can be Drastically Reduced by Optimizing Vitamin D Levels

New research study shows Mothers who took 4,000 IU’s (ten times the RDA of 400 IU) of vitamin D during pregnancy had their risk of premature birth reduced by half.

As preterm births are on the rise worldwide, there is powerful new evidence supporting the claim that sufficient vitamin D levels can reduce your risk of having a premature delivery. It can also help protect your newborn baby from other health problems.

In what is considered the first scientific trial that meets the most stringent criteria for “evidence-based inquiry,” US researchers Drs. Hollis and Wagner divulged their findings at a recent international vitamin D research conference in Brugge, Belgium.

Their findings included:

Mothers who took 4,000 IU’s (ten times the RDA of 400 IU) of vitamin D during pregnancy had their risk of premature birth reduced by half
Premature babies born to women taking high doses of vitamin D were reduced by half at both 32 and 37 weeks, and
There were also fewer babies who were born “small for dates”
Women taking high doses of vitamin D had a 25 per cent reduction in infections, particularly respiratory infections such as colds and flu as well as fewer infections of the vagina and the gums
The “core morbidities of pregnancy” were reduced by 30 per cent in the women who took the high-dose vitamin D (including diabetes, high blood pressure, and pre-eclampsia – a potentially deadly increase in blood pressure and
fluid)
Babies getting the highest amounts of vitamin D after birth had fewer colds and less eczema

Reported by www.naturaleyecare.com

Omega-3 and vitamin D linked to 40% reduced risk of macular degeneration

Study shows that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-3 rich fish could slash the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 40 per cent.

This study adds further support for increasing the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids with the finding that arachidonic acid (AA, omega-6 fatty acid) is associated with an increased risk of AMD.

Ref: “Association Between Vitamin D and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 Through 1994”

Authors: N. Parekh, R.J. Chappell, A.E. Millen, D.M. Albert, J.A. Mares

Archives of Ophthalmology

May 125, 2007 Volume 125, Pages 671-679

See more related information on macular degeneration.

Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels

Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fracture

In a new study, it was found that breast cancer patients have low levels of vitamin D, aggravating low bone mass and fracture risk.

These patients have accelerated loss of bone mass due to hormone and chemo therapies.

The recommended weekly supplement for high doses of vitamin D is 50,000 international units or more improved the levels, according to Peppone’s study and the blood levels close to 32 nanograms per milliliter are adequate according to the U.S. Institute of Medicine.

According to Dr. Cedric Garland, a vitamin D expert and pioneer a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer can be ‘virtually eradicated’ by elevating her vitamin D levels to what scientists demonstrate are natural blood levels.

Reducing Tinnitus with B-Vitamins

Vitamin B supplementation may help reduce Tinnitus, characterized as chronic ringing, roaring, buzzing, humming, chirping, or hissing in the ears in the absence of environmental noise. These vitamins include a B-Complex, which help stabilize nerves.

Vitamin B supplementation may help reduce Tinnitus is characterized as chronic ringing, roaring, buzzing, humming, chirping, or hissing in the ears in the absence of environmental noise. These vitamins include a B-Complex, which help stabilize nerves.

There may also be some correlation between the decline in vitamin B12 levels and the increasing prevalence of tinnitus in the elderly. A study by Shemesh et al. (1993) showed that there was a high prevalence (47%) of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with chronic tinnitus. This deficiency was more widespread and severe in the tinnitus group that was associated with noise exposure, suggesting a relationship between vitamin B12 deficiency and dysfunction of the auditory pathway. Supplemental cobalamin was found to provide some relief in several patients with severe tinnitus.

Acupuncture can also be very helpful in alleviating Tinnitus.

From www.naturaleyecare.com

High folate intake associated with lower incidence of hearing loss in men

The men with intake of folate from food and supplements was among the highest 20 percent of participants
had a 21 percent reduction in the risk of developing hearing loss compared with those in the lowest
fifth.

Research study conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found a protective effect for the folate (which converts to vitamin B9 in the liver) against the development of hearing loss in older men. This study analyzed 3,559 men over 60 who developed hearing loss.

The men with a higher intake of folate from food and supplements was among the highest 20 percent of participants had a 21 percent reduction in the risk of developing hearing loss compared with those in the lowest
fifth.

See more information on nutrients and diet for vision preservation.

Insufficient levels of vitamin D puts elderly at increased risk of dying from heart disease

Insufficient levels of vitamin D puts elderly at increased risk of dying from heart disease, based on new study recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin, with approximately 1/3 of seniors considered to be deficient in vitamin D.

Editor’s note: Vitamin D3 is the form best absorbed in a supplement. See more information on nutrients and health conditions.

Vitamin C protects the skin

Research conducted at the University of Leicester in England, reported this year in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in vitamin C’s ability to help heal and protect the skin. The vitamin is an essential cofactor for the synthesis of collagen, the predominant protein in skin and other connective tissue.

This research is particularly relevant for skin disease due to sun damage, and that scientists now believe that the free radical theory of disease also applies to the aging of the skin. Free radicals are unstable small molecules generated by an oxygen environment which require stabilization by the body’s antioxidant system.

Editor’s Note: Numerous peer review research studies show the benefits of vitamin C for anti-aging, strengthening the immune system and preventing eye disease. For more information on overall body and eye health through a healthy diet and lifestyle, go to Natural Eye Care for Better Vision and Overall Health.